Moving
by Vol lady
Summary: Jarrod and Maggie move back to Stockton, but they're not the only ones moving forward with their lives.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Late May 1880

They were both so sound asleep on the train that they would have missed the Stockton stop had the conductor not come into their private car yelling, "Stockton coming up!"

Jarrod stirred first, and as he moved, Maggie moved. "Are we there?" she mumbled.

Jarrod sat up on the end of the sofa where they had fallen asleep, saying, "Sounds like it."

Maggie sat up then. They looked at each other and laughed.

"We look awful," Maggie said.

Jarrod handed her her reticule and fished a comb out of the breast pocket of his jacket. As he combed his hair and straightened his tie, Maggie pulled a hand mirror out of her reticule and examined her hair.

"Oh, this is hopeless," she said, trying to fix the combs that held her hair out of her eyes.

"Here, let me," Jarrod said, and reached his arms around her to resettle the hair combs. He lingered for a kiss.

"I can't believe we're here," Maggie said. "I can't believe everything that's happened to us over the past year."

Jarrod chuckled. "YOU can't believe it? I've moved to San Francisco and now back again, all within a year. Do you know how tired of moving I am?"

"I can imagine, but we won't do it anymore. We're home."

"Well, almost," Jarrod said and turned to look out of the window. They were close to Stockton, but still not quite there. "We still have to get this train to Stockton, and we'll still have to move into the house once it's done."

"You sold the townhouse so fast."

"Well, that's the San Francisco real estate market for you. Demand exceeds supply, lucky for us."

Maggie leaned over and kissed him.

"We have some time," Jarrod said. "Once we get there, we'll have to wait for them to move the car onto the siding and uncouple it."

"So – what do you want to do?"

Jarrod kissed her again. "Kissing is nice."

Kissing was nice until they felt the train uncouple and leave their car on the siding. "Guess we'd better get off," Maggie said then.

Jarrod smiled, climbing to his feet, and as soon as he was up, his brothers Nick and Heath came rushing through the door.

"Welcome home!" Nick yelled.

Jarrod shook hands with his brothers, and they each gave Maggie a hug. Then Nick and Heath saw all the luggage.

"Good grief, I thought you had already shipped or carried everything you owned back here," Nick said.

"It's only seven or eight bags, Nick," Jarrod said. "You two can handle them without me. I have to help my lovely wife down and get her safely over the tracks. She is with child, you know."

"Of course," Nick said with a bow.

Heath had already gotten hold of two small bags and two large ones, leaving Nick with four mid-sized ones. Nick struggled with getting them together – one each under each arm and one in each hand – but he did it. Meanwhile, Jarrod had already helped Maggie down off the car and was getting her across the tracks to the platform.

His mother and sister were waiting there for them, beaming from ear to ear. "Welcome home!" Audra cried.

As soon as Jarrod and Maggie had climbed up to the platform, Victoria and Audra were embracing them.

"I hope you had a good trip," Victoria said.

"We did, but we're glad to be here," Maggie said.

Nick and Heath struggled to the surrey and loaded the baggage there. Then they each mounted their horses, as Jarrod sat with his wife in the back seat in the surrey, Victoria driving and Audra beside her.

They chatted like crazy – loudly at first, until they drove out of town – and then at a more conversational level. It was idle chatter until it came to Jarrod asking, "So, how is the house coming?"

They had begun construction at the beginning of May, but wet weather slowed things down a bit. "We'll drive by and let you have a look," Victoria said over her shoulder.

"The foundation's in?" Jarrod asked.

"Oh, yes," Victoria replied. "They weren't able to get it under roof before the rains hit, though, so I guess you'll have to move into the main house for a while."

"Well, we expected that," Jarrod said.

"What we didn't expect was the house in San Francisco to sell so fast," Maggie said.

"That's just fine with us," Victoria said. "We've got plenty of room."

They chatted idly until they passed by the sign that said they were on Barkley property, and shortly after that they turned south along a country lane. A short drive over a small hill, and there before them was the beginning of their home.

The foundation was in, with the framing and one wall in place. As they had asked, the grove of trees that was special to them was intact, to the rear of the house. The outbuildings had not yet been started.

Jarrod climbed out of the surrey, leaving the ladies there so they would not get dirt on their clothing. Nick and Heath dismounted and joined him at what would one day be the front door.

"Looks good," Jarrod said.

"We gave the crew the day off today, seeing as it's Sunday," Nick said.

Jarrod nodded and began to walk around the building, imagining rooms where there were only studs, seeing a fireplace where the chimney had yet to be built. Nick and Heath walked with him, but they pretty much toured the site in silence, until they came back to the front.

"Where do you want the sign to be?" Heath asked then.

"Sign?" Jarrod asked. "What sign?"

"Gotta have a sign," Heath said. "You know, the name of your place."

"Oh," Jarrod said. "Maybe out where the lane leaves the road?"

"What name have you chosen?" Nick asked.

"For the house?" Jarrod asked.

"Of course for the house. What else are we talking about?"

"Uh – " Jarrod stuttered for a moment. Then it came to him, and he went back to the surrey to talk to Maggie. She looked confused as he asked, "What shall we name our home?"

"Seems you already have an idea," Maggie said.

Jarrod smiled. "How about 'The Grove'?"

Maggie smiled that beautiful smile Jarrod loved so much. "I like it."

Jarrod turned, spread his arms wide and said to his brothers, "'The Grove'!"

XXXXX

Once they got to the main house, Nick and Heath took the baggage up to Jarrod's room, and Jarrod and Maggie got down to the task of unpacking it. It was tiring work, but at least it was the last of moving out of San Francisco. Maggie had given up her job and apartment, Jarrod had sold his house and his practice, and now, as the baggage emptied, the biggest part of the move was over.

It was time for drinks before dinner when Jarrod and Maggie finished and came down. Everyone else had already gathered in the living room.

"Well, there they are," Nick said as he saw them coming. "What did you do, fall asleep up there?"

"No, we unpacked," Jarrod said. "Now there are nice empty suitcases for you and Heath to put into storage."

"How is it we always get the work?" Heath asked Nick.

Nick shrugged.

Jarrod slapped Nick on the back. "You're soft touches. Maggie, would you like something to drink?"

Maggie's stomach didn't react well to the thought of alcohol. "I think I'd just like some water."

"Comin' up," Heath said and poured from the pitcher kept on the refreshment table. "Jarrod, anything for you?"

Jarrod didn't answer him.

All eyes went to where he had been standing, but now he had sunk into a chair in the corner, doubled over, grabbing his chest.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It hit him so suddenly and so deeply that it took his breath away. Jarrod couldn't even make a noise, so he took himself to the nearest chair and got down into it as fast as he could. He didn't hear Heath ask him what he wanted to drink, and he didn't hear their voices calling to him. As he fumbled for one of his handy little devils, he felt Maggie kneel beside him, and as soon as he put the pill under his tongue, he grabbed her arm.

He wasn't afraid. He was certain it would ease off, but the pain was monstrous and he needed her arm to help him stay upright in the chair. He crammed his eyes closed. He didn't look at the rest of his family members – he didn't want to see how alarmed they were. He didn't want to see anyone or anything until the pain passed. It took long minutes to begin to pass.

And as it did, he realized, this was the first time he'd had an angina attack in front of anyone except Heath and Maggie, and it was the first time he'd had one in front of everyone all at once.

The pain eased. The embarrassment grew.

He finally looked up and smiled. "No need to worry. My handy little devil is doing its job."

He squeezed Maggie's arm, and he smiled at the terror in the faces of everyone else.

"It looks scarier than it is," Heath said, but he couldn't smile. He'd seen this before, in that alley at Christmastime, when Jarrod had collapsed into his arms. It looked every bit as scary this time.

Jarrod began to stand. Maggie steadied him, and Nick came over to offer a stronger arm. But Jarrod waved him off. "I'm all right now. I'm sorry this happened now, but maybe it's just as well it did. You all need to know that the pills work and it all passes in a little while."

Victoria and Audra sat back down, but it was too difficult to go on with idle chatter as if nothing had happened.

"Some brandy, Jarrod?" Heath asked quietly.

"Good idea," Jarrod said.

Heath poured a bit of brandy into a snifter and handed it to Jarrod. He took a sip, smiled at Maggie holding his arm and at his other family members, trying to put them at ease.

He decided not to ignore it, but to talk about it. "I really am all right. You have to believe me that I'm not lying about that."

"It's not that we think you're lying, Jarrod," Victoria said. "It's just that – until now, I for one didn't fully understand what you were going through." Her voice cracked a little when she said it.

"Well, now you can see that while it might look a bit dramatic, it's not," Jarrod said. "It's kind of like a cramp, I'd say, except that instead of having it my leg, I get it in my heart."

"You're sure you're all right?" Nick asked quietly.

Jarrod nodded. "I'm sure. I'm already as good as new. And my sweet wife has seen a few of these go by. She knows how to see me through them." He put his arm around her and squeezed.

Maggie smiled and was not putting on a front, but she wasn't taking it as lightly as Jarrod was, either. This had been a worse attack than usual, and he was upset that it had happened in front of everyone. She wasn't afraid, but she wasn't at ease with it either. She said, "Jarrod's right. It looks worse than it really is."

Jarrod sipped at his brandy again and smiled. "All right, enough about me," he said. "Let me hear more about our new house. Boys, when do you think you can get it under roof?"

The subject changed, and by the time dinner was served, everyone had loosened up a bit. But Jarrod knew his family was never going to look at him the same way again. That pity and fear that he had dreaded to see in their eyes would come a lot easier and more often now. He hated that. It made him feel weak and it made him have to face up to what was happening to him. There was no escape in the company of his family anymore.

XXXXXX

Maggie could tell he was still bothered when they went to bed that night. He turned the light down and slipped into bed beside her, and he kissed her as usual, but he seemed exhausted, and not in a good way. "You want to talk about what happened?" she asked in the darkness.

Somehow, darkness always allowed more truth to be spoken, Jarrod thought. And something else. Darkness – he remembered. _Will you STOP trying to tell me how brave I am!_

"Something I haven't told you about," he said. "A couple of years ago I was injured in an explosion. I lost my eyesight for several weeks. I was totally blind. It was a horrible time, but the advantage of being blind is you don't have to see the concern and the pity in your family's eyes. Oh, I knew it was there, but I didn't have to see it every day. Now I do. I don't know if I have the courage to take that."

"You were embarrassed when that angina attack hit, weren't you?" Maggie asked.

"Yes. Looking weak like that – it's something I've never been able to get used to."

Maggie turned on her side and rubbed his chest. "It requires real humility."

Humility. That was something Jarrod always thought he had, but maybe he was wrong. He thought deeply about it, about the way he felt and why he hated his family looking at him as if he was not strong anymore. Maybe a lack of humility did have something to do with it.

"You're right," he said. "It's always been important to me to be strong and capable. Even in the past, when I've had to deal with my own weakness, it's always been temporary. It's gone away every time, and I could go back to believing I was strong and capable. I can't do that anymore. Now that they've all seen it – I can't do that anymore."

"You may not be as strong and capable as you used to be," Maggie said quietly, "but you're not a weak man. You're strong and capable in a way that you haven't realized before. Just living the life you are – building a home for me and our child, continuing your career for us – even if it isn't as big a practice as you might like – it takes strength to do that day in and day out. I don't look at you as if you're week and incapable. I know you'll take care of me and our baby for a long time to come. I have no doubts whatsoever."

Jarrod rolled onto his side and put his arms around his wife. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

She kissed him. "You became you."

Jarrod smiled in the darkness, and they kissed again.

XXXXXXX

By breakfast in the morning, Jarrod was back to his jovial self. He came down to breakfast without Maggie. His family had already gathered, and he said, "Good morning," as he fetched his food from the sideboard.

"Good morning, Jarrod," Victoria said. "Where's Maggie?"

"Oh, I'm letting her sleep in this morning," Jarrod said, finished filling his plate and took his seat at the head of the table. "It was a long day yesterday, a bit much for her."

"How is she doing with the baby coming?" Nick asked.

"Quite well, actually," Jarrod said. "Pass the coffee, Nick."

Nick passed the pot.

Jarrod poured while he spoke. "The doctor's been happy with her progress. I plan to take her to see Dr. Merar again in a day or two, make sure he's on board."

"Have yourself checked out, too, please," Victoria said.

She looked at him with her "I really mean that" look that Jarrod had seen a thousand times over his lifetime – that and that awful concern. But he smiled. "I will do that. But you all need to know that you've seen me at my worst, and I've recovered. This morning I'm fine."

"Good," Nick said. "I got a couple shipping contracts for you to look over, and we have a boatload of rice scheduled to come in in less than a month. We need to line up unloading and shipping for that. And there's the prison labor contracts for picking the fruit in the fall."

Victoria groaned, and Audra smirked. She traded looks with Heath that made him laugh.

"What?" Nick asked when he saw the reaction.

"You just never change, Nick," Jarrod said, chuckling and shaking his head.

"It's important ranch work _that Jarrod has taken back over_!" Nick defended himself.

"He's right," Jarrod said to the rest of them.

Nick threw his hands in the air. "Hallelujah! I'm finally right!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Dr. Merar said, "Well, you both look like you're doing pretty well to me. Maggie, you are coming along right on schedule. Just make sure you keep your iron levels up and you get lots of rest. Jarrod, we talked about digitalis a while back, and I still have doubts it. You may have had a bad spell or two, but overall, you've declined only slightly over the last year. I don't think we need to be talking about changing anything yet."

Jarrod and Maggie looked at each other and smiled. As if on cue, they both heaved a big sigh at the same time, and then they laughed about it.

As they got up, Jarrod asked, "How much do I owe you, Doc?"

"Two dollars," Dr. Merar said, smiling.

Jarrod paid him.

"Come back and see me in a month, Maggie," Dr. Merar said. "And Jarrod, you come back when you think you need to. Otherwise we'll just touch base when you bring Maggie in. And how is that house coming?"

"Oh, got a little setback with the weather, but we'll get rolling again soon," Jarrod said. "Should be ready before the baby is born."

"I'm looking forward to the house warming," Dr. Merar said. "It'll be the social event of the Stockton season."

Jarrod laughed. "Then we need to build a bigger social season in Stockton."

"I expect Audra's wedding will take care of that."

Maggie and Jarrod went out into the late spring sunshine and just stood for a moment on the sidewalk, looking around, breathing in the fresh air.

"I can't believe we actually live here," Maggie said.

"Are you happy or apprehensive?" Jarrod asked.

"Both, I guess," Maggie said. "Oh, everything that's happening to us is so exciting, I just never thought – you know, only a year ago, I hardly knew you. I never dreamed a year later my life would be so completely turned around."

"Neither did I," Jarrod said. "But it's wonderful, isn't it?"

"It is."

"Let's have lunch at the Stockton House," Jarrod said. "It's quite nice and I have a taste for their hot roast beef sandwich."

XXXXXX

Nick was looking out over the herd, watching the men branding the new calves while the other stock just grazed as if nothing was happening. Must be nice to have no cares in the world as long as you're not the one being branded, Nick thought.

Then he let his mind wander to other idle thoughts. How pretty the mountains to the east looked with the snow vanishing a little more every day. How green the grass was becoming as spring moved toward summer.

Then he looked up Placerville way, and he remembered Nancy Tyler. It had been months since he had talked her into sheltering him and that blabbermouth of a prisoner he'd been transporting from a snowstorm, but he had thought about her almost every day since. It had been so pleasant just talking with her, helping her clean up after dinner, just being with her. If he closed his eyes, he could even smell the vanilla scent she wore.

"Hey, Nick," Heath's voice from a bit of distance away jolted him.

"Yeah?" Nick asked.

Heath pointed to some strays beginning to wander away. Nick took off after them and guided them back to the herd.

Heath was waiting when Nick returned. "You daydreaming today?"

"Little bit," Nick said. "You know, when I went up to Placerville last February – I met a girl."

"Uh-huh," Heath said. He didn't know.

"No, no, not just any girl. Follow my line of thought here. Seeing what happened to Jarrod the other night, when he had that angina attack – it made me remember what I'd been thinking about when he first brought Maggie here, last January, remember?"

Heath nodded, but he wasn't really seeing where Nick was going with this.

"Here they've got his illness, and Beth and Maggie's dead husband, and they're still so much in love and – I don't know, ready to face what they have to face. And I keep thinking, why can't I feel that way about someone?"

"Because you haven't grown up enough yet," Heath said.

"No – well, yeah, maybe that's part of it, but when I went up to Placerville with that prisoner last February, we hit a storm and a woman took us in for the night, and I remember – understanding, when I talked to her – I understood what Jarrod has that I don't have."

"What do you mean?"

"When it comes to women. Women fall in love with him – Maggie's fallen in love with him and she's a gem. What she is is lovely, and that's it. Jarrod is attracted to lovely women, and they're attracted to him. Me, I fall in love with beautiful women all the time, but it never works out, because they're beautiful but not lovely. You know what I mean?"

Heath looked confused, but he thought about it. "Yeah. I think I get it."

"Heck, you're the same way," Nick said. "Lovely girls fall for you and you fall for them sometimes too. When I met that woman up near Placerville, I understood what the difference was between a lovely woman and a beautiful woman. And watching Jarrod and Maggie together – her having a baby and the way she helped him when he had that angina attack, and the way he put his arm around her when he felt better – the way they were so right for each other. I need to find that, Heath. I need to find a lovely woman who will be my Maggie. You know?"

"Yeah," Heath said, "I know. But what I don't know is why you're thinking about all this while we're branding calves."

Nick chuckled. The two trains of thought really didn't seem to connect at all, but, "I think when we got the branding done, I might take a little trip back up toward Placerville."

Heath's eyebrows went up. "You? Take a vacation?"

Nick nodded and smiled. "To visit a lovely woman."

Then Nick spotted some strays trying to wander again, and he took off after them with a new energy. Heath had to laugh. Most of the time, when Nick did some deep thinking, he ended up thinking in the wrong direction and getting all tangled up in his head. But maybe this time he got something right. Maybe he really was getting the desire to settle down, and maybe he was figuring out how to do it.

It made Heath smile – and wonder about himself.

XXXXXXX

Jarrod left Maggie to take a nap and rode out to where the house was being constructed. Crews were back on the job, and by the time Jarrod got there another wall had been put into place and carpenters were working on another one. He didn't know any of these men – many had been hired specifically for this job. They all looked at him briefly and went back to work.

One of the men approached him. "Did you want something?" he asked.

Jarrod said, "It's my house you're building. I just wanted to see how it was going."

The stranger relaxed and smiled then. "Oh, it's going just fine now that the weather has dried out. Nice little house you're building here. Got to admit, though, I'm surprised one of the Barkleys is building a house this small."

Jarrod laughed. "It's all we need for now. We had the architect design it so we can build on when we need to."

The man nodded. "Well, we're moving right along. Ought to be under roof by the end of the week."

"Great," Jarrod said. "Anything you need out here?"

"Nope. All set."

Jarrod suspected that what they needed was for him to go away, so he nodded and turned his horse around to ride back to the main house.

He let Jingo take off for once. Usually he kept a tight rein on the gelding when he was feeling his oats, but today he felt like he wanted to feel the wind, too. Sensing he was finally free to run, Jingo took off.

And Jarrod laughed. Life was so sweet, as sweet as the spring air, as sweet as a horse running free. He let Jingo go for as long as he wanted to, but after a few minutes, even Jingo was ready to slow down. Jarrod let him take whatever pace he wanted until they finally got back to the stable yard at the main house. Then Jarrod reined him in and had him trot in to the yard at an easy pace.

When he dismounted, Jingo nuzzled him. Jarrod could have sworn that was his horse's way of saying thank you, but he suspected it was really his way of saying he wanted some of the sugar in Jarrod's pocket. Jarrod gave him a sugar cube. "I hear you, Jingo, old boy," he said. "Thanks for letting me ride while you ran away with the wind."

Audra came in right behind him. She had been out riding somewhere, too. She smiled and dismounted right next to her oldest brother. "Did you go out to look at the house?"

"Yes, I did," Jarrod said. "Where have you been?"

"Carl's. How's the house coming?"

"They said they'd be under roof by the end of the week."

"That's wonderful. Where's Maggie?"

"Napping. The doctor told her to get lots of rest."

"Did he say she was doing all right?"

"Yes, and before you ask, I am, too. Everything's on schedule for me to walk you down the aisle."

"It's less than a month now."

"Getting nervous?"

"Are you up to carrying me down the aisle if you have to?"

Jarrod threw an arm around her, laughing. "Sorry, honey. My days of carrying you are over. But believe me, I will be _walking_ with you down that aisle, and I will be dancing with you afterward."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Victoria mounted her horse and rode out to the little copse of trees just off the road to Stockton, to the little plot where her husband and her daughter-in-law, Beth, were buried. She didn't come here all that often, but she'd been thinking about her husband Tom more frequently lately. At first, after she'd read his last journals, she came out here almost twice a week, but that eased off as the weather turned bad, and now that it was spring again, she decided she wanted to talk to him again.

Especially after Jarrod's angina attack a few days earlier. It took Victoria a few days to put together why his angina attack made her want to come here again. At first she was afraid that she was only thinking about this spot because in the back of her mind she was seeing her oldest son's grave here, too. Seeing Jarrod suffer that attack made his condition so real, made the truth about what lay ahead for him so real. She did not want to see his grave here, even in her mind's eye.

But that wasn't it. This morning, while her thoughts were occupied with some of the final preparations for Audra's wedding, it occurred to her that she wasn't really thinking about burying her oldest here – she was thinking about what he was going through right now, and how her husband might have gone through this too. If he had not been killed, he'd have suffered the same angina attacks that Jarrod was suffering now. The thought just made her want to be with her husband again.

Now that she understood more clearly what was pulling her here, she came back out. She dismounted and tethered her horse to a tree, and she walked to the edge of the tiny cemetery. Early wildflowers were beginning to bloom around the area and even atop both graves. It was really very beautiful.

Victoria closed her eyes and remembered what it was like having her husband beside her, his arm around her in love and in comfort. Right after he died, she used to stand here and imagine that almost every day. Now, she imagined it again. It had been so long since his arm around her was real. It had been so long.

She heard a horse coming, and she looked up. It was Heath. He pulled up short, looking startled to see her, starting to turn. "I'm sorry, I didn't know anybody was here," he said and started to go.

"No, please, stay," Victoria said. "Please, Heath."

Heath dismounted, tethered his horse, and took his hat off as he came up beside her. "I don't mean to disturb you."

"You're not," Victoria said. "I just came because – well, I'm not really sure why I came. I think it's because I finally put a couple things together."

"What things?" Heath asked.

"Your father's last journals. Jarrod's situation. When he had that angina attack the other day, I was really flustered. I've stayed flustered and I wasn't sure why it was hanging on so long until I put it all together this morning. Heath, if your father hadn't been killed when he was, he'd have suffered the way Jarrod is suffering now."

Saying it out loud make Victoria begin to cry, even though she didn't want to. That happened to her so often, tears coming when she did want them to or even expect them to. They just came. But why? Were they tears of grief for Jarrod? Or –

Victoria caught her breath. "I honestly never thought there was anything good about the way your father died, about the time that it happened. I always thought I lost him far too soon – and especially when you came and I realized he'd never get to know you and you'd never get to know him. I thought that was tragic and unfair, but seeing Jarrod suffering now – and realizing your father was spared that, simply because he was killed when he was - "

She stopped. Heath gave her a minute, but she did not complete the thought, so he did. "You're grateful he didn't have to go through what Jarrod's going through."

"Yes," Victoria said, the tears coming harder. "Is that wrong of me, Heath? Is it wrong to be grateful he died when he did?"

Heath thought hard about it. "I've been thinking about Father, too, and about what's happening to Jarrod. Guess that's why I came here today, too, to try to work it out in my head. I've always been sorry I never got to meet Tom Barkley. At first it was because I wanted to punch him out, I was so angry when I first came. But when I came to understand – thanks to you – that he didn't come get me because he didn't know I existed. When I came to know all of you and know him through your eyes. When I came to feel a part of this family and feel you giving me all the love you give each other. I got a lot less mad about everything, and I find myself sometimes coming here just so I can imagine that he would have loved me, too, if he'd had the chance."

Victoria looked at her adopted son and understood what he was saying. "Why did you come here now?"

"I'm not sure," Heath said. "I think maybe it's for the same reason you came. All the times I came here before – once I began to know and love all of my family that was his family – I just kept wishing he had lived long enough for me to meet him and know him. But now, seeing Jarrod going through what he's going through and knowing that Father would have gone through the same thing – I think I'm thinking like you are. That I'm grateful he didn't have to suffer like that."

They stood in silence together for a few moments before Heath spoke up again.

"But you know, Jarrod isn't suffering, not as much as we think he is. He's happy, and he rolls with those punches, and if you asked him, I think he'd say he'd put up with those angina attacks every day if it meant he could stay with his wife and see his baby arrive and grow up. Maybe Father would have said the same thing. Maybe he'd have been glad to put up with some of that suffering if it meant more time with his family."

Victoria was silent for a moment, looking at her husband's grave, but then she said, "I know he'd have put up with it gladly if it meant he could have met you."

Smiling his lopsided smile, Heath put his arm around his adopted mother and kissed her cheek. "I reckon things happen for a reason, Mother. Maybe it was just Father's time, and there were both good things and bad things about it."

Victoria nodded, then heaved a big sigh. "Did you know he didn't like wildflowers?"

Heath chuckled. "What?"

"He didn't like wildflowers at all. I think it was because they kept getting into the vegetable garden and the rose garden, and he kept trying to pull them all out, but they would come back in as fast as he pulled them out. If he knew they were on his grave, I think he might scream bloody murder."

Heath laughed out loud. "I'll be happy to come by now and then to pull them out if you like."

Victoria smiled. "No. Even your father knew when to stop fighting a losing battle. And I like the wildflowers. I like remembering how frustrated he would get. It makes me laugh. Am I a bad wife for that?"

Heath laughed even more and gave her a squeeze. "No, no, not at all. If I could make people laugh even after I'm gone, I'd consider my life worthwhile."

Victoria finally laughed. "I think you might have gotten that attitude from your father."

XXXXX

Heath went back out to the herd, and Victoria rode back to the house, where she found Maggie and Jarrod in the living room. Maggie sat on the settee, reading, while Jarrod was in one of the armchairs, leaning forward as he worked on some papers on the coffee table.

"I'm surprised you don't have a bad back by now, working on that coffee table instead of the desk," Victoria said.

Jarrod sat up straighter. "You're probably right, I've earned a bad back, but if I work here, I can glance up at my beautiful wife now and then and it makes me grateful for the work."

He winked at Maggie, who had looked up from her book. Maggie smiled that smile that he loved so much.

Victoria gave Jarrod's upper back a rub as she looked over his shoulder at his work. "Contracts," she said.

"So very exciting," Jarrod said sarcastically. "I never thought I'd miss the courtroom – oh, of course I thought I'd miss it, who am I kidding?"

"Are you sorry you've given it up?" Maggie asked.

"No, not at all," he said, even if a tiny bit of him wasn't sure about that. "But contracts are not very exciting at all." He put his pen down and rubbed his eyes.

"Would you like some coffee?" Victoria asked.

"I think I'd prefer tea," he said. "Maggie, how about you?"

"Tea would be perfect," Maggie said.

Victoria said, "Then tea it is. I'll be back in a few minutes."

She went off to the kitchen, where she found Silas cutting vegetables. She looked over and recognized winter squash.

"Hello, Mrs. Barkley," Silas said.

Victoria took the kettle to the pump and filled it with water. "Hello, Silas. What are you fixing?"

"This is the last of the winter squash and we don't have a lot of it," Silas said. "I thought I'd make a nice soup out of it for dinner."

"I think that's an excellent idea," Victoria said.

"You're making some tea, ma'am?"

"Yes, I am."

"I'll be happy to do that and bring a pot out to the living room for you. How many cups?"

"Three, Silas, thank you," Victoria said.

"My pleasure, ma'am," he said.

Victoria gave silent thanks for this wonderful man, as she did several times a day, and went back out to the living room. Jarrod was hunched over his work again, and Maggie was back into her book.

Victoria stopped under the archway for a moment. They were both so involved with what they were doing, they didn't hear her come back. She just watched them, watching the simple domestic happiness going on in front of her. They were so right for each other, so comfortable, so –

So much like she and Tom had been, in this living room, so many years ago now. Victoria thought she might cry at the memory, but she didn't. Instead, she smiled, and after a moment she went upstairs to change her clothes.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"I'm going up toward Placerville for a few days," Nick announced while the family was gathered for drinks before dinner.

Heath raised his eyebrows, and Victoria spotted it. He knew what this was about.

"When are you leaving?" Jarrod asked.

"Day after tomorrow," Nick said.

"Why are you going to Placerville?" Jarrod asked.

"Oh, just a break," Nick said.

Nobody believed him, not even Maggie, who was taking her cue from the other faces around her. When Audra rolled her eyes, she knew there was more to this than Nick would own up to.

"Break from what?" Jarrod asked.

Smiles grew. Jarrod was going to do the full cross-examination, and they were happy to let the expert handle it.

"Work," Nick said flatly.

"What's her name?" Jarrod asked.

"Who says there has to be a 'her'?" Nick replied, beginning to get testy.

Which, to Jarrod, meant he was about to break the witness. "What's her name?"

Nick looked into his glass of whiskey and said, "Nancy."

"Ah," Jarrod said. "Nancy what?"

"Nancy Tyler," Nick fessed up. "I had to take a prisoner up to Placerville for Sheriff Madden in February, and she took us in from a snowstorm. Her father was in a hospital in Sacramento at the time. I thought it would be nice if I checked in on them, see how they were doing."

"How long will you be gone?" Jarrod asked.

"Couple, three days," Nick said, getting irritated. "Why am I getting the full Jarrod Barkley Esquire treatment here?"

"You're going away, we wondered why," Victoria said. "Objection overruled."

Everyone but Nick smiled, and Jarrod went on. "Why did you _have_ to take a prisoner up there for Fred?"

"I was doing him a favor," Nick said. Then he turned toward his mother. "Mother – "

He started to say "make him stop" or "Jarrod's picking on me," but it sounded too childish even to him and he just left it.

Heath said, "January 1."

"Ah, January 1," Jarrod said. "What happened on January 1?"

" _That_ you will never get out of me, Counselor," Nick said, leaning in toward his older brother. "I'm taking the fifth."

Jarrod dissolved into laughter, and everyone but Nick followed. He just looked self-satisfied and finished his drink.

XXXXX

Nick left early two days later, carrying four days worth of provisions and breathing easier as soon as he passed by the sign to the Barkley ranch. But then –

He wasn't very far along before he started thinking, _have I lost my mind? Here I am, going up to barge in on a woman I barely know and announce, surprise, Nick Barkley is back! What if she has a husband by now? Or just a man she's seeing? What if I don't even like her this time around?_

He kept thinking. _Well, I've got the excuse that I'm on my way to Placerville for some business of some sort and I just dropped in to see how her father is doing. That will work. That makes it sound a lot better than just, surprise, here I am again, did you miss me?_

So he kept on going. He camped the first night out but he got very little sleep. He was getting more and more nervous the closer he got to her place.

And then panic set in. _What if I can't find her place? It was covered in snow the last time I was there. It'll look different now. What if I can't even find it?_

He slept so poorly that he fed the fire all night long and got up as soon as the sky began to lighten. He made coffee and ate some breakfast, and he was off again just before the sun came up.

He remembered as he drew closer to where her place ought to be that it was not only snow covered the last time he was there – it was night. He had only found the house because a lamp was lit inside. This time, mid-day, there would be no lamp.

But all his anxiety about finding her place was for naught. He knew it the moment he saw it, remembering that he had passed it on the way home. He took a deep breath before he turned into the lane and rode up to the house. He remembered how much he had enjoyed that one evening he spent with Nancy Tyler. He tethered his horse and went up to the door. He knocked.

There was no answer. He knocked again. Nothing.

He sighed. She wasn't here.

He turned around and wondered what to do. Just as he was about to give up and leave, she came around the corner of the house, carrying a large laundry basket. She stopped when she saw him, startled.

He smiled and took off his hat. "Hello. Remember me? Nick Barkley?"

Her face slowly brightened. "I do! My gosh, Nick Barkley! I never thought I'd see you again!"

Nancy put the laundry basket down on the porch and came closer to Nick. Nick said, "I was just on my way to Placerville again, thought I'd stop by and see how you were doing – see how your father was doing. So, how are you doing?"

 _My God, I sound like an idiot,_ he thought.

She lost a little of her smile. "Oh, well, my father passed away about two weeks ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"He never did get over that bout of pneumonia. It just kept coming back, and he finally – well, I lost him around mid-month."

"I really am sorry."

There was an awkward silence then, and Nick nearly announced that he ought to be going, but Nancy said, "Would you like to come in for some coffee? I just made some about twenty minutes ago."

"Yes, I would like that," Nick said, and he and Nancy went inside.

XXXXXXX

Heath came into the house and put his hat on the table by the door to the hall that led to the library. He was really tired. It had been a long day of repairing fence, and he'd been on his feet the whole time. He had taken his gunbelt but never put it on, so now he just hung it up in the hall leading to the kitchen. It was close to six o'clock but there was no one in the living room. He was not the type to bellow like Nick unless there was some emergency, so he just went around looking for someone, anyone.

He found Silas and Victoria in the kitchen, cooking together. "I was beginning to think I was all by myself tonight," Heath said as he came in.

"No, you're not," Victoria said. "I'm just helping Silas get dinner started." She noticed he was still in his sweaty work clothes. "I think you'd better go clean up and change for dinner. You look you've been in those clothes for days."

Heath started for the back stairs. "Where's everyone else?"

"Maggie is napping and Jarrod is with her. Audra is in her room looking at the latest batch of acceptances from people coming to her wedding. Nick went off to Placerville."

Heath remembered that last part. "I hope you're ready for him to bring somebody back with him."

Victoria and Silas both turned to look at him. "What?" Victoria said.

On the stairs, Heath stopped and turned. "Well, he's gotten himself pretty smitten with a lovely young woman up that way. I'm just saying."

Victoria rolled her eyes and turned back to her work. "Thirty years and NOW all of a sudden this house is getting full of spouses and fiancés and – Heath, are you seeing anyone I need to know about?"

"Not yet!" Heath laughed as he climbed out of sight, but his voice came down, "But I'm thinking about it!"

Victoria heaved a sigh and just looked at Silas. He smiled. "Grandkids come next, Mrs. Barkley. You always said you wanted grandkids."

"Are YOU ready for little ones running around here?" Victoria asked him.

Silas smiled. "Mrs. Barkley, I been ready since Mr. Jarrod came back from the war. I can't think of anything I'd like better than watching you rolling on the floor with a half dozen little ones."

Victoria stopped, and smiled. "I think I'd like that a lot myself."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It was the same, as easy and comfortable as it had been in February. Over coffee, they talked quietly about things – family, dreams, silly things in the past and hopes for the future – until suddenly it was getting dark and it was dinner time. Nancy insisted Nick stay for dinner. There was plenty to eat and she was really enjoying his company.

So he stayed, for chicken and biscuits, and then more coffee and suddenly it was later than either of them realized. "Well," Nick said, "looks like I let time slip away. I better be going."

"You'll never make Placerville tonight," Nancy said. "The sofa is all yours if you'd rather stay here than camp out."

Nick wasn't sure what to say. With no chaperone here, he just wasn't sure what to say.

Nancy said, "It's all right. I trust you."

Nick heaved a sigh. "Why should you?"

"Are you saying I can't?" She wasn't nervous about it, not unsure in the slightest. She really did trust him.

"No, I'm not saying that at all," Nick said. "It's just – well, the neighbors might talk."

Nancy laughed. "My nearest neighbors are on the other side of the hill. Besides, you stayed over before. And somehow I don't think you're the kind to take unfair advantage of a woman who isn't ready for that."

Nick understood. She really did trust him, and she was not making a veiled come-on. She really was exactly as she appeared to be – comfortable with him, and unafraid. "I'll take that sofa," he agreed.

He slept well, oddly enough. He felt no urge to slip into her bedroom and find a way to get her to let him spend the night in her bed. She wasn't that kind of woman. He liked that she wasn't that kind of woman. He'd known too many of that kind of woman, and now he wanted something else.

He woke up to the smell of coffee. Nancy was already up and beginning to make breakfast. "Good morning," she said as he sat up on the sofa.

"Good morning," he said. "I didn't even hear you come out."

She laughed. "You were snoring away. I didn't want to wake you. I wanted to get a good breakfast together before you head off to Placerville."

Nick found his boots and pulled them on, debating whether or not to fess up to the fact that he really had no reason to go to Placerville. He had not even pulled his shirt off before he went to sleep. He could use a shave, but he could do without if need be. He did need to visit the small house out back, though. "I'll be right back," he said and went out the back door.

By the time he came back, he had made up his mind about what to say about Placerville. "Truth is," he said right at the start, "I don't really need to go to Placerville."

He was standing next to her as she fried bacon. She looked up, only mildly surprised.

"I only wanted to get away from the ranch for a couple days, and I remembered seeing you back in February. Well, I was wondering how your father was doing and – frankly, I wanted to see you again. I was pretty disappointed you weren't here when I headed back to Stockton last trip."

Nancy smiled. "Whatever happened to that yakety-yakking prisoner of yours?"

Nick laughed. "Turned out they'd made a mistake. By the time we got to Placerville, he wasn't wanted anymore."

Nancy laughed. "Why did you need to get away from the ranch?"

"Change of scenery. Just did."

Nancy took the bacon out of the pan and cracked four eggs into it to fry. "So you'll be heading back to Stockton instead of going to Placerville."

"Guess so," Nick said. "Unless you need some help around here. I could fix a few things that need fixing, if you have anything that needs fixing."

He was reaching for a reason to stay now, and he knew she knew it, but she was honest. "Nothing really needs fixing right now. I had help from one of my father's friends, the one that lives on that spread on the other side of the hill. He pretty much made sure everything was in good shape by the time the rains came a couple weeks ago."

"Well," Nick said, "guess I will be heading back to Stockton then."

There was something hanging there between them, something more to say, but what? Nancy gave him a smile as she cooked the eggs. "Why don't you pour yourself some coffee?" she asked.

She had set the small kitchen table and had a pile of biscuits and butter waiting there already. Nick picked up a cup from there and poured himself some coffee. Then, from somewhere, came some words. "Nancy, how are you going to make it here all by yourself? How do you have any income to buy supplies, and I mean – that friend of your father's, is he someone you could see as a husband?"

Nancy shook her head. "I think you're saying I should be married if I want to stay here. That friend of my father's is nearly 60. I have no prospects around here, and I'm not really wedded to staying here."

"Then how can you stay?"

She shrugged. "Where can I go? I haven't found an alternative yet."

"If you're stuck here, how can you look?"

"Sacramento isn't too far away. I haven't really put my thoughts on the subject together yet. Father only died two weeks ago. I need a little time to let myself settle down, do some thinking."

"Come with me," Nick said before he even realized he was saying it. "I mean, no strings attached. Come with me down to our ranch in Stockton. Take a little vacation. Get your father's friend to come feed the chickens and collect the eggs. Spend a little time with my family and me. Give yourself a chance to be with some other people for a change. Just – take time to think about what you're going to do. My mother is one wise woman, and my brother Jarrod – he's a lawyer – he's gotten around a lot in his life and he can counsel you on things you need counseling on. Come with me."

The eggs were done. "Would you hand me one of those plates on the table, Nick?"

Nick fetched a plate. Nancy put the eggs on that plate with all the bacon and carried it to the table, where she transferred some bacon and three of the eggs to the other plate. She sat down, signaling Nick to do the same.

He felt stupid now for saying what he had, but he knew he'd feel even more stupid if he took it back. He poked at his breakfast.

Nancy said, "I guess we could go over to Mr. Sale's and see if he'd mind feeding the chickens. He gets his eggs from me in exchange for butter and milk, since I don't have a cow. Then, I guess we could be to Stockton by tomorrow afternoon or so."

Nick smiled.

XXXXXXX

Jarrod watched his wife sleeping beside him. She'd been so tired of late, but he guessed that came with being pregnant, or at least being pregnant for the first time at her age. Now she was sleeping comfortably, or so he thought before she smiled and said, "You're watching me."

"You're right, I am," he said. "You're beautiful when you sleep. You're beautiful when you're awake, too."

Maggie opened her eyes and turned on her side. Jarrod was already on his side. They kissed. "What kind of day do you have planned?" she asked.

"I need to go to town and see the man at the shipping company to go over these contracts," Jarrod said.

He really didn't look all that happy about it. "This isn't the kind of law you enjoy practicing, is it?"

"No," he said, "but it's the way it has to be now. I can't take the stress of courtroom work or running up to Sacramento to lobby for laws. Dealing with contracts is usually a few rungs down on the tension ladder, and what I want most out of life now is to be here as long as I can be here, and be as healthy as I can be for you and that little person we're expecting."

Maggie kissed him again. "I went to see your father's grave and Beth's grave yesterday," she suddenly admitted out of the blue. "I hope you're not angry."

"Why didn't you have me go with you?" he asked.

"You were busy with your work. I took a buggy, and I was very careful. And I wanted to talk to them alone."

Jarrod didn't say anything, but his eyes registered his confusion.

"I just wanted to be sure they know how much I love you, and how I will take care of you and make you happy. They're both concerned about that, you know. You being happy."

Jarrod smiled. "I forgot. You do talk to – well, you talked to Mark about us once, too."

"Yes, I do talk to those we had to leave behind. I can't say they really answer me, not in words, but sometimes I feel something."

"And are Father and Beth happy?"

"They're content. They're at ease. They want the best for you, and I think they believed me when I told them I loved you and would take care of you."

"That I also believe," Jarrod said, running his finger down the side of her face. "But don't you go off like that alone again. Someone should be with you. You don't know this place all that well yet, and I don't want anything to happen to you."

"All right. Deal. Are you ready to get up and start the day?"

"In a minute or five," Jarrod said and leaned closer.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Heath didn't particularly like spending an evening at the saloon in Stockton without Nick along. It was just not as much fun. Nick was always into a poker game, or dancing with the saloon girls (maybe more than one at a time), or even drinking too much so that Heath had to keep him from getting arrested. In brief, you never had a dull time with Nick around.

And other people noticed, too.

"Where's Nick?" at least five men asked him the first fifteen minutes he was in the saloon.

"Out of town," Heath replied each time.

He took his turns dancing with the girls in Nick's stead, and he sat down for a good long poker game after nine o'clock rolled around, but he had trouble concentrating on the game and made some dumb moves. Unlike him. He gave it up after an hour or so, grateful that he had lost only a little bit of money, and he wandered out into the street at close to ten thirty.

 _No respectable woman would be out at this time of night_ , was his first thought. His second thought was, _why am I letting Nick's expedition into finding the right woman get to me so much?_

Because he was, that was all there was to it. It was Audra getting married, Jarrod already married, Eugene seeing someone back east and now Nick, of all people, thinking about someone in particular seriously. And here he was, no prospects anywhere in sight.

 _Am I gonna end up alone again?_

Heath shivered at that. That was no way to think. First of all, Audra and Jarrod would not be far away, and even if Nick did settle down, he'd be settling down right on the ranch, right where he was, running things with Heath just as he had been for the last four years. Still, to be the only one without someone to love, someone to love him – it bothered him.

"You're here awful late, Heath," he heard Sheriff Madden say. The sheriff had come up beside him so quietly, Heath didn't hear it.

"Just now calling it an evening, heading home," Heath said.

"Where's Nick?"

Heath started laughing. "Get in line, Sheriff. Everybody wants to know where Nick is. He wanted to get away for a few days, went up to Placerville."

"Placerville?! I thought he'd never go anywhere near that place again after I sent him up there last February."

"He never has forgiven you for that."

"Can't say I blame him, but I couldn't bear the thought of taking that blabbermouth prisoner of mine up there myself, and I had January 1 to hold over your brother, so I used it. He'll get over it."

"Well, you know, he might end up thanking you for it."

"Thanking me?"

"I think he met a young lady on that trip last February. He went up to check in on her."

"Hm," Sheriff Madden said, surprised. "Jarrod gets married, Audra getting married, now maybe Nick. That's some disease you got running around out there."

"Well, so far I haven't caught it, but when I look back about one year – nobody else had caught it yet either. Funny how fast things can turn around, isn't it?"

Heath gave the sheriff a friendly pat on the arm and took off toward where he had tethered his horse. In a moment, he was mounted and on his way home.

When he arrived back at the ranch, no one was up but there was a light left on for him in the foyer. He was tired, so he just doused it and headed up to his room, leaving the hall lights on as usual. Everything was quiet and still, not even any snoring coming from anywhere – and then he remembered Nick was not around. He chuckled to himself, went to his room, and got ready for bed.

After he turned in, he lay awake for a long time, wondering again if it was time for him to look seriously for someone to spend his life with. He really didn't know why he hadn't looked before now. Was it just that he was happy being single? Maybe. Growing up an only child, being on his own for so long before he came here – maybe he was just used to being alone. It was comfortable – maybe too comfortable?

He rolled over onto his side, and was sorry there was no one there beside him. It was a feeling that came over him suddenly, without him even thinking about it. Someone should be there.

He reached for the phantom who wasn't there.

XXXXXX

Nick and Nancy had to camp for the night, but the time they spent around the campfire was as companionable as the time they spent in her home. Nancy explained how she grew up an only child, her mother dying when she was 12. She talked about taking care of her father after that and how she didn't regret the choices she'd made, even if she was left alone now.

"I did what I needed to do," she said. "I couldn't go marry and leave my father alone."

"Was there someone who asked you?" Nick asked.

Nancy hesitated. "Yes, when I was 18, but he wanted me to live with him in Sacramento, and he did not want to take Father along with me, so I had to turn him down. I'm not sorry. That wasn't the kind of man I wanted anyway. How about you? Tell me about your family that I'll be meeting in the next couple days."

"Ah, well, my Father died a lot of years ago. He was killed in a dispute with the railroad. He and my mother had built the ranch up from nothing, and he didn't want the railroad to take the land from others who were trying to do the same thing. He was considered a hero to the ranchers in the valley." Nick's mind drifted away, seeing his Father again, seeing him stand up to oppression and being shot down for it.

"I'm sorry," Nancy said quietly.

Nick came back to the present. "My mother – she's an amazing woman. Elegant, beautiful, but so tough. She rallied us all when we needed it, she and my older brother, Jarrod. He took over for Father in a lot of ways. He's a lawyer – he knew how to fight the railroad with the law as well as with guns. He's four years older than I am, and we had two younger siblings. Audra's 10 years younger than I am, Eugene 11. Jarrod kind of became surrogate father to them. I took over the running of the ranch. And then, about four years ago, my brother Heath came to us."

"Came to you?"

"Well, that's a long story. Heath had a different mother. We didn't know he existed until he came to the ranch. He's a few years younger than I am. He's fit right in with us, runs the ranch with me. It's like he was always with us. I don't know, it's hard to explain, but Jarrod just never was a rancher. Having Heath around, running the ranch with me – it's like God just dropped a brother I needed right into my arms. Eugene lives back east now. Audra will be getting married next month. Jarrod is married and they're expecting a baby this fall. We're building him and his wife a house on the property."

Nick's mind drifted off again. He started drawing in the dirt with a stick, the fire dancing off the idle pictures he was making.

"You love them very much," Nancy said.

"Yes, I do," Nick said. "I'm sorry you never got to have a family like that."

Nancy smiled. "We take what we get, don't we? I'd have liked to have brothers and sisters, but it didn't happen. And you're right. I've been thinking that I can't stay on our ranch alone for long. I need people around me. Thank you for inviting me to your home for a few days. I think it will help me clear my head."

"Talk to my mother while you're there. Talk to Jarrod and his wife and Heath and Audra. I think it will help you decide what you want."

"May I talk to you, too?"

"Of course. Anytime."

Nancy leaned over and kissed Nick on the cheek. "I think I need to get some sleep. I really look forward to getting to your ranch tomorrow."

Nick smiled. "Good night."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Jarrod rubbed his eyes and leaned back in the chair he sat in, the one behind the large desk in the library. He'd been at these contracts all day – contracts with the state to use prisoner labor for picking the peaches and pears in the fall. They were standard form contracts like the ones you always got from the state for prisoner labor, but they were slightly different this time than they had been the last time he reviewed such contracts. He had to look more closely at what he was reading, and it was murder on the eyes.

Maggie came in with a tray with coffee and two cups. "Time for a break," she said. "You've been at this too long." She set the tray on the coffee table by the sofa.

Jarrod checked his watch. "Good Lord, it's past four o'clock. I'm sorry, I had no idea."

He got up and joined his wife on the sofa. They exchanged a long, relaxing kiss, before Maggie poured him a cup of coffee. "I think you ought to put that work aside for the day. We need to get ready for dinner – and I for one would like to spend a little relaxing time with my husband."

"Did you have a nap?"

"Yes. I woke up about half an hour ago. I'm all rested and bright-eyed, which is more than I can say for you."

"Yeah, this stuff really does get to my eyes. I will gather it up and put it away after we have coffee, and we can spend a couple hours before dinner just being together – maybe on the back porch swing?"

They shared another kiss as Maggie chuckled. "We have to have a swing at the new house, you know, and I want it on the back porch, for memory's sake, and so we can look at the grove from there."

"That's a wonderful idea. Now, for some peace and quiet and coffee."

"MOTHER?!"

Maggie's eyes flew open, and Jarrod sank into himself. "Nick is home," Jarrod said.

And Maggie laughed. "I've never heard him announce himself like that."

"Well, he was behaving, for your sake, I think, but he probably just forgot himself since he's been away for – what, four days maybe?"

"Should we go greet him?"

"No, he can come to us, and maybe – just maybe – if he doesn't do it, we'll go track him down in a while."

Jarrod relaxed and drank his coffee, and Maggie joined him.

XXXXXX

"Mother?! Where is everybody?!"

Nancy found herself laughing at Nick's boisterous entrance to his home, but she hid it. He had carried her carpetbag in and dropped it by the table in the foyer.

Victoria came downstairs at his bellowing, saying, "Nick, I swear they can hear you in San Francisco – "

And then she saw Nancy. Victoria looked startled, which made Nancy lose a bit of that smile, uncertain again as to how she was going to be received.

But Nick dove right in. "Mother, this is Nancy Tyler. Nancy, this is my mother."

Victoria came down and offered her hand, and a warm smile now that she'd been introduced. "Hello, Nancy, it's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Barkley," Nancy said.

Nick said, "I met Nancy on that trip to Placerville last February. She lost her father a couple weeks ago, and I invited her to spend a few days with us while she thinks about what she's going to do now."

Victoria said, "Oh, I see. I'm so sorry for your loss. Please, come in, sit down. Nick, would you go get us some coffee?"

Nick grunted and headed for the kitchen, while Victoria put an arm around Nancy's shoulders and directed her to the parlor settee. Nancy was a few inches shorter than Victoria, but Victoria could feel muscles in those shoulders. Her life had been a working life.

"So, I take it you have no other family?" Victoria asked.

"No, Mrs. Barkley," Nancy said as they sat down. "My mother died when I was a child, and I had no brothers or sisters. Nick saw that I was a bit at loose ends, and he kindly invited me here. He thinks the world of you and his family."

Victoria smiled. "That's nice to hear. I suppose he told you about his brothers and sister."

"Yes, he did. He's pretty excited about his sister's wedding."

"We all are. It's less than three weeks away now. Audra is beginning to show all the signs of absolute terror."

Nancy laughed. "I suspect you'll all survive. From what I hear, you have a strong and loving family, and terror flees from your door rather than enter it."

Victoria loved the way Nancy put that. Where did Nick find this lovely and literate young woman? "How did you meet my son?"

"He was taking a prisoner to Placerville last February, and in the middle of a blizzard he knocked on my front door looking for a roof over their heads. I couldn't refuse them. Nick and I actually had a lovely evening together, talking, sharing coffee, even doing the dishes."

"You got Nick to do the dishes?"

"He seemed to enjoy it."

Nick came back in with a tray of coffee and cups just as Nancy was explaining that. He got an astonished look from his mother. "You never enjoyed doing the dishes when you were a boy."

"It was one of my chores early on," Nick said as he put the tray on the coffee table and sat down in one of the armchairs. "I hated chores."

They took coffee together and chatted for quite a while before the front door opened and Heath came in. He was dirty and dusty, but on seeing they had company he came into the living room, saying, "Hello."

Nick got up. "Nancy, this is my brother Heath. Heath, this is Nancy Tyler."

Heath nodded to her. "Forgive me if I don't take your hand, but I'm pretty dirty from the range. Think I'll go clean up and change for dinner. I'm very pleased to meet you, Miss Tyler."

"Nancy," she said. "I'm pleased to meet you, too."

As Heath took off upstairs, Nick asked, "Where are Audra and Jarrod and Maggie?"

"Audra's off at Carl's," Victoria said. "Jarrod's been working in the library, and Maggie took some coffee in there a while ago."

"Which we finished and were heading out for the back porch swing," Jarrod's voice came as he and Maggie came in, hand in hand, from the library. "We heard you come in, Nick, so we hid."

"Your loss," Nick said. "Nancy, this is my brother Jarrod – he's MUCH older than I am – and his wife Maggie, who must have lost her mind when she married my brother."

"Hello," Nancy said with a laugh.

Jarrod took her hand as Maggie said hello. "It's nice to meet you, Nancy," Jarrod said. "If you will excuse us until our little social hour, we will be outside enjoying the fresh air."

Jarrod and Maggie went on toward the back porch as Nancy looked at Victoria curiously. "Social hour?"

"We share drinks and conversation before dinner," Victoria said. "It gives us a chance to catch up with each other, and to relax before dinner."

"That's a lovely idea," Nancy said.

 _Lovely,_ Nick thought. _That's what you are, lovely. That's what I want, lovely._

"Lovely," Nick said, looking at Nancy.

Epilogue

Jarrod and Maggie drifted back and forth on the back porch swing. The air was sweet, and Jarrod's eyes were getting back to normal after all that staring at small print all day. He thought he could almost fall asleep here beside his wife, holding her hand, feeling her closeness.

"I think I could spend the rest of my life on a porch swing," Maggie said wistfully.

"Not a great place to have a baby," Jarrod said with a smile.

"And once the little bugger comes along, our porch swing days might be interrupted."

"No," Jarrod said. "We'll just bring him along. A child ought to grow up on a porch swing, I think. How have you been feeling today? Any less tired?"

"A little bit, I think, but this is going to be a big baby, Jarrod. He's already a lot to lug around."

"You're sure it's going to be a 'he'."

"Yes, I'm beginning to be very sure. Jarrod Thomas Barkley Jr. I'm beginning to wish he'd get here."

"You're scarcely halfway there, and you really don't want him to come early."

"No, you're right, I don't. I'll just be sure to get plenty of rest and eat well like the doctor told me. We'll let Jarrod Jr. show up when he's good and ready."

Jarrod rested his head back with a sigh. "Are you happy we've made the move here?"

"Oh, yes," Maggie said. "It's so beautiful here. Your relationship with your family is so lovely. Jarrod Jr. is going to grow up with a lot of love around him. This is where we all belong, all three of us."

Jarrod kissed his wife. "Yeah, I guess I've learned that lesson for sure now. I belong here – with you, with them. This is where I want us to be – where I want to be."

Maggie returned the kiss, and they relaxed together in the swing and dreamed sweet, sweet dreams.

The End


End file.
